ORIGIN

BaT Exclusive: 1956 Fiat 1100 Sport TV Boano Giannini

From 4/9/2013: This Fiat sold within 48 hours. Congratulations to the buyer and seller!

4/12/2013 Update:

This 1956 Fiat 1100 Sport TV Boano Giannini (Chassis 218364) is likely the only surviving example of the approximately 10 built by Boano Lavorazioni Speciali between 1955 and 1957. The body is made of aluminium with the exception of the side doors which are made of steel, and the seller says that hundreds of working hours have been spent on the recent body restoration, which he has documented in the 391 photos in the album below. He bought the car in project form from a family that had kept it for 47 years, and says that the car is an interesting entry for top-level concours all over the world. It is now available for the first time since its restoration in Southern Italy, near Bari, for 110,000 Euros or near offer.

The rear screen is made of perspex and the bumpers are made of brass. The car is based on the Fiat 1100-103 TV chassis and mechanicals but, different from that, has a mild-tuned engine with hi-compression pistons and displacement increased to 1205 c.c. (instead of 1098 c.c.) and the radiator is larger and thicker. The Boano factory was created in late ’54/early ’55 by Felice Mario Boano, once he left Ghia and before he could join the Centro Stile Fiat (Fiat design center) in 1957. The front enamel badge is extremely rare as it shows not only the Giannini logo but also the Fiat one, together. This model was shown the first time at 1956 Salone di Torino (Torino autoshow) in two areas: the Boano area and at the Giannini brothers area. The first one had a little different external trims and wire wheels, the one at the Giannini expo area was like this car.

This car was sold by Fiat on the 24th of December 1955 to Boano (if you check the photos there is also a scan of the Fiat register about this). It is a matching number car with 1957 registration papers (libretto). No history of this car about the first year is available(from 1956 to 1957): the seller researched it but nothing came about. The only thing he knows is that it was sold new somewhere near Trieste. Then it was sold to a gentleman in Napoli (1957, the same year of the plate). He sold the car in 1964 to the last owner (in Napoli) before the current seller. He owned the car till 2006, when he passed away. The seller bought the car in 2011 from his sons, who let the car lie in a courtyard: this car remained in the same family for 47 years.

When I bought the car, it was repainted in white. I brought back the car in its original paint scheme. With the exception of headlights and rear lights, the car was extremely original and 100% complete. All trims (interiors and external) were there, the car has still the original jack and tools. In the past, the previous owner loved this car so much: every mechanical part has been repaired but not replaced. The original and rare “Boano” logo was still on the driver side and it has been properly restored.

The car had a careful sympathetic, concours level restoration. Everything on this car is the same which left the Boano factory with the exception of the steering wheel (the original was cracked) and the exhaust. BTW, both are ultra rare “Franco Conti” n.o.s. spare parts. Note that the speedometer is designed like the stock Fiat 1100-103 one, but this one has a 200 km/h scale. Interiors have been re-trimmed in vinyl (like the original trim). All glasses are original. Also the rubber carpet is original and cleaned. I suspect that this car was one of the very first made: differently from the period photos, mine is the only car which doesn’t have quarter lights.

The rebuilt engine starts at the first try (even cold) and turns like a swiss watch. The fuel pump too is original (the first series Fiat TV engine had a different fuel pump like the one installed on this car). Even the fuel line is the original brass one.

there are not only the photos of the car before, during and after the restoration, but also some period photos, like a clip from Sports Cars in Review, a period Boano advertising and a photo of a sister of this car which joined the 1959 Targa Florio.

Check out the additional photos in the Flickr gallery and slide-show below.